With reference to FIG. 1, as is known a motor vehicle 10 typically includes an engine compartment 12, a passenger compartment 14, and some type of cargo compartment 16 such as a trunk, rear hatch, etc. The passenger compartment 14 is defined by at least a floor 18, a roof 20, and passenger compartment doors 22 (in the depicted embodiment, the driver's-side door is removed for convenience) which when in a closed configuration as shown in FIG. 1 also provide side walls to the passenger compartment 14. A door seal (not shown) is typically provided, fabricated of a flexible material such as rubber or a polymer, which seals any gaps between the doors 22 and other components of the passenger compartment 14 to prevent intrusion of wind and moisture, and to assist in reducing the amount of exterior noise (engine noise, tire noise, etc.) entering the passenger compartment.
The motor vehicle 10 also includes one or more pillars (sometimes referred to as posts) which provide structural support to various portions of the passenger compartment 14. As is known, pillars are the vertical or quasi-vertical supports of a vehicle 10's window area or “greenhouse.” These pillars are by convention identified by their placement beginning at a juncture of the engine compartment 12 and the passenger compartment 14, and then being numbered or lettered sequentially proceeding towards a rear of the vehicle 10. Thus, the pillars disposed at either side of the vehicle front windscreen 24 are the A pillars 26. The pillars extending between the passenger compartment roof 20 to the floor 18 are the B pillars 28. The pillars disposed at a rear of the vehicle rear door, in the depicted embodiment being disposed at either side of the vehicle rear window 30, are the C pillars 32. In longer vehicles such as station wagons, SUVs, limousines, etc. D pillars may be provided. Still more, vehicles with additional doors may be provided with more than one pair of B pillars, designated B1, B2, etc.
Difficulties can be encountered in the seemingly simple task of exiting such vehicles from a seated position on, e.g., seat 34. For example, in a crowded parking lot with narrow parking spaces where a door 22 cannot be fully opened without contacting an adjacent vehicle, a driver or passenger may have difficulty exiting the vehicle through the relatively narrower opening provided between the partially opened door 22 and the vehicle 10 body.
In turn, individuals may simply have difficulty exiting seat 34. As non-limiting examples, the elderly and individuals with physical impairments may have difficulty exiting a conventional vehicle seat 34. Alternatively, exiting a seat 34 that is held in a vehicle 10 that is built very low to the ground may be difficult for anyone. For this latter reason, a wide variety of ancillary handles and other transfer aids (transfer boards, transfer discs, swiveling discs or seat cushions, slides, and others) are in the marketplace, to provide a supplemental hand-hold for support/balance assistance to assist such individuals in exiting/entering a vehicle 10. Such ancillary handles/transfer aids, however, are easily misplaced or lost.
Thus, a need is identified in the art for structures to assist individuals in exiting the motor vehicle, such as in the exemplary non-limiting situations described above.